Hello I've had a Wii Fit since Christmas time and if you've been thinking of getting one as a way to lose weight i can advise you against it. The Active comming out on May 19th from EA Sports for the Wii seems to be the much better choice. But first a critque of the problems of the Fit.

The Wii fit uses a BMI system in order to determine how "fit" you are and while such a system can be a good measure of weight it does not take muscle mass into account and muscle as you may know weighs more than fat, so for a person like myself with very muscular legs I am considered near obese for my height when really I'm fit except for a bit of a tummy.
Now you may argue that the balance board is a great piece of technology and that i'm expecting too much from it but if my bathroom scale can tell me what % of my body is fat then why can't my glorified bathroom scale the balance board?

The Fit is also useless because there is no built in routine for the workouts. You simply do as much of whichever workout you feel like at any given time and get scored on how well you complete it. The Fit will not tell you that doing nothing but pushups all day for a week is bad for your body, (it is) only what % accuracy you had in doing them and how long it took you.

For the people who bought the Fit to get in shape i think that it's safe to say that the majority of them bought the fit to teach them how to get fit, (so they could get in shape in the privacy of their living rooms without having to be seen in a gym or take the time out to go to the gym) and therefore making their own routine from the Fit exercises is a skill they don't possess.

Also the only time that the Fit that talks about food is if you are a lot heavier one day to than the last, then it gives you options of excuses as to why which include snacking and late eating. Food is an essential component to fitness and if you really need that information the game "My weightloss coach" for the DS was released and covers food and specific exercises for another $50 also this program doesn't incorporate the Fit or balance board so for people who already bought the Fit it was a kick to the pants. Wii "My fitness coach" came out very quietly at the begining of December and is a bit better in that it gives you the opportunity to choose "weight loss routine" as an exercise type but there is limited variety and the subject of food is again not covered.

Whereas the with the Active: (info from http://www.easportsactive.com/product.action)
You can track your progress with the journal feature in which you set your fitness goals and then check back daily to see how well you’re doing. You can also use it to log information like the foods you eat so that the Active can help you eat smarter.
The is also an included resistance band and leg holster for the nunchuck to give the game acurate readings of your body position and to include resistance training. The Active is also compatible with the Wii Balance Board™ so there was a point in getting the fit after all (besides for we ski).
Also the program was designed with the assistance of famous fitness guru Bob Greene and has 25+ activity types which it switches up for you every day working towards your goal. Cross-training at it's best.

So Discuss:
Have you been disappointed by the Wii Fit?
Do you plan to buy EA Sports Active? and do you like it's features?
Have you had any success with either my weight-loss or fitness coach games?
Do you have any other games that use the balance board and how are they?

I don't really encounter any problems with the Wii Fit, neither does my mother.

Of course, there isn't a specific routine, but that can work in your advantage as well; there are things you can't do due to certain reasons and if you can pick the exercises you want to do, you know for sure that you can which is a plus.

I'm not sure if I'll buy the other game because the Wii Fit works fine for me so it would be a bit of spending money you don't need to spend, though I agree on how the Wii Fit only calculates with your weigth.

For the best results, however, you're probably better off taking your meassurements and ignoring the build in scales. And, of course, a mirror does wonders as well.

Of course, the Wii Fit doesn't know how much muscle or fat mass you have, but everything electronic doesn't calculate that. If you want to make sure a routine works perfectly for you and you have the best coaching, you should pick a coach from the fitnessschool after all who can see you and personally advice you.

I just think that for the money it costs to get a Fit or the Advance the program should include some actual training, in the form of telling you which exercises you should do

The $150 you spend buying the wii fit is really paying for the technology (its new, probably cost millions to make and implement etc) so once ninendo decide their pockets are too full they will put it down in price :yes:

My personal opinion on the whole thing, is thats its just another weight loss gimmick >.>; I never saw what was so good about the weight thing itself (although the board works beautifully for skating =D lol) when we sold hundreds upon hundreds during the christmas rush

I have though received alot of praise from older people (mainly females) about how its able to keep them moving and active because they can't do much, which is really great actually ^^ and mothers love how their kids move while playing the mini games (as to them sitting on the couch with a controller for hours on end)

It may not be the perfect fitness tool, but it seems to make people move at least which is really great to see in the gaming industry - and it allows people of all ages to use it too :)

It doesn't supprise me that EA would be better - they go into some in-depth stuff with some sport games o.o; its always good to see an alternative ^^ Of course, the game actually hasn't been released yet in australia so i can't compare directly as of yet (for all i know it could of come out today xD; everything comes out on a Thursday lol, but im pretty sure its scheduled for the end of the month)

Yeah it's not here until the middle of May but it just looks to be so much better and yes, in-depth. Which is what I'm looking for in a fitness tool/game. I mean if you get the option to "choose your trainer" the trainer should train you. Not just say "you're a little unsteady", "this exercise is good for toning your arms", "people like this exercise because it tones their arms".

It is definitely good that people are moving more but when I go home to visit my mom for easter weekend I'm going to recommend she hold off on the fit until the active comes out

I dont have a Wii yet, but I would like one.
My mom has one, and wen I visited her last month we played Wii Fit together. She does the Yoga all the time and it really works for her! I want Wii fit just to work on the yoga. Aside from that, I like the mini games that deal with hula hooping (you do that hard enough, and enough times in a row, and you WILL sweat!) I got tripped up over the areobics, but I had fun.
I think with Wii Fit... it's not so much about losing weight and giving you all your daily activity, but it's a starting point. And for many, that little activity is better than what they normally WOULD do.
If you ACTUALLY want to lose weight, you shouldn't be looking to a video game as a coach.

Why shouldn't I look to a video game?

It means i don't have to leave my house and be seen in workout gear + like you said I'm more likely to do the activity instead of what i would usually do.

Plus games like My fitness coach and my weight loss coach and the EA Active are made for people to use to loose weight. And i just want them to fufill their promises.

Even taken at it's very core my complaint that the fit doesn't provide any kind of workout routine that is safe for the money that it costs and the trouble it would have taken them to add it I think is still a valid point

Whatever you do, avoid the game for the Wii fit by Jillian from the "biggest loser". Don't get me wrong, I love Jillian...but that game is the WORSE game EVER! Seriously, it does not work! I tried using the Wii fit board with the hand controls, I tried using just the hand controls, no matter how hard I tired I could NOT get the game to accurately sense my movements. I tried returning it and getting another disk of the same game, same problem. Of course after the fact I checked out online reviews of the game and they all say the same thing. The game blows.

I am going to by the EA game set (I already have it reserved) and I own the "fitness coach". I use the fitness coach more often because I do Yoga with one of the kids I work with. It's ok. It doesn't do anything that a work out video can't do. It does occasionally ask you if the work out is too hard and then adjusts it accordingly...but it's just not all that or a bag of low fat, low salt chips.

Yay!!
When I get it too we can compare notes ;)

i liked wii fit (i actually lost a bit of my tummy)

I'm loving my ea active!
Woot for the 30 day challenge